Unfortunately, they got that stick upside the head in their 111-103 loss to the surging Denver Nuggets before 20,562 at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Nuggets (33-18) own the league's longest winning streak at nine in a row. They haven't lost since Jan. 18 against Washington.

Cavs coach Byron Scott said he wasn't upset in the least with the way his team competed.

Advertisement

"We ran into a team playing very good basketball," he said. "We didn't take a step back. We challenged these guys. They have a bunch of great athletes who get up down the floor. I'm not disappointed in our effort. Tonight, they were a better team."

Unlike several past Denver teams, this one defends and puts pressure on the ball.

They forced 16 turnovers by the Cavs -- four more than they amassed in the previous two games combined. They also held the Cavs to 44 percent shooting and outrebounded them, 46-38.

"They get after you defensively," Scott said. "They switch a lot of things, which messes up your flow. That's the beauty of their team. They have a lot of interchangeable parts. They are a very balanced basketball team. They are pretty athletic at every position.

"They just played a little bit harder than we did. They had that extra oomph than we did. They beat us to a lot of loose balls."

The Cavs (16-35) were trying to win four in a row for the first time in three years.

All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving had a game-high 26 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

The 6-foot-3, 191-pounder was saddled with foul trouble on Saturday. He picked up his fourth personal in the third quarter and was forced to the bench.

"I didn't think Coach would take me out, but he did," Irving said. "The fourth foul was key.

"We were a step behind all night. They killed us in the paint (they were outscored, 62-32)."

He took a knee to the thigh with 4 minutes left in the game.

Scott wasn't expecting to take his star player out of the game.

"We expected him to be out there for pretty much the entire third quarter," he said. "We had some costly turnovers (while Irving was on the bench)."

Forward Alonzo Gee fired in 20 points, two off his career high. However, 15 of them came in the first six minutes of the game. He has been battling a horrid shooting slump in the last couple weeks. He made 8 of 8 from the field, 3 of 3 from behind the arc.

The Cavs' bench had been outstanding since the trade with Memphis on Jan. 22. However, the Nuggets have a lot of pride in their reserves, too. Denver's bench outscored the Cavs, 40-36. Their bench was led by 7-footer JaVale McGee's 13 points, four rebounds and four blocks.

On one of his rejections, in the third quarter, he caught a shot by Cavs center Marreese Speights. The Cavs' bench wanted a goaltending, as the ball seemed to be on its downward arc.

"I thought it was a goaltending that wasn't called," Scott said.

Scott said his team's bench had been playing at an all-time high.

"They all know their roles and they don't deviate from it," he said. "We have two great leaders in Shaun (Livingston) and Luke (Walton). They've made a very good connection in a very short time."

Notes

Scott is impressed with Faried. "He's not 6-8, I'll tell you that," he said. "He plays much bigger. He goes after everything. He doesn't take plays off. You don't see guys that athletic who play that hard. He goes after everything. It's a full sprint every time." Scott said Cavs center Anderson Varejao plays at the same level, "but Faried is so much more athletic than Andy. He jumps out of the gym. He's a handful." ... Cavs general manager Chris Grant walked past Karl while he was doing his pregame availability. "Make any trades?" Karl asked. "We're open for business," Grant said, "as long as you have picks." ... Karl said Cavs guard Kyrie Irving is exceptional. "It's very unique you prepare the majority of your game plan to stop a second-year guy," Karl said. "He hasn't played 80 games yet. In the fourth quarter, we have to be aware he likes that moment." ... Karl isn't worried about the fact he has no superstars. "It's a team game," he said. "At the end of the season, the champion in June will be the team that plays as a team, and plays with the team mentality first. We're going to try to shock the world and win a championship without a superstar or an All-Star." ... The Cavs fell to 3-13 on the second night of a back-to-back set.